Manchester United fans make their way to Old Trafford (Picture: Getty Images)

The BBC’s annual Price of Football survey came out this week and provided some interesting comparisons on how much money fans of clubs in England are paying to watch their team play live.

Manchester United’s ticket prices have been frozen for several years but this hasn’t made the Glazers any more popular at the club. Their initial price hikes and refusal to compete with other top clubs in the transfer market, until this summer, has made them the enemy of United supporters.

Research from Sporting Intelligence earlier this month showed that United’s spending on transfers and wages, as a percentage of total income, was less than Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur since the Glazers took over the club in 2005.

Given the size of Old Trafford and the fact every game is a sell out, the potential for making money is huge, so even with price freezes, United generate more matchday income than any other club in the league.

Last season, United earned £109m from matchday income, compared to £93m at Arsenal, £71m at Chelsea, £45m at Liverpool, £40m at City, and £33m at Spurs.

The BBC’s survey shows that United’s cheapest matchday ticket is £36, which looks good in comparison to City (£37), Liverpool (£37) and Chelsea (£50). Yet some fans, for the lowest category games, can watch Arsenal for £27 and Spurs for £32. However, when United fans go to these London grounds as the away team, they would be required to pay over £50 as this would be a category A game.

United’s most expensive matchday ticket is the cheapest of all of these clubs though, costing £58. City’s is also £58, whilst Liverpool’s is £59, Tottenham’s is £81, Chelea’s is £87 and Arsenal’s is £97.

United fans get good value for money watching their team (Picture: Getty Images)

United don’t compare as favourably when it comes to season ticket prices, although their cheapest is still considerably less than the ones offered by Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. However, City’s is over £200 less.

United’s most expensive season ticket is £950, which is £81 more than Liverpool’s (or £4.30 more a game) and £90 more than City’s (£4.70 more a game). But nowhere near as expensive as the London clubs. Chelsea’s most expensive is £1,250, Tottenham’s is £1,895 and Arsenal’s is £2,013.

In terms of value for money, United fans were left wanting last season, following David Moyes’ disastrous stint in charge of the club.

Supporters will be hoping for a turnaround in fortune this season, but when you consider how little fans of Bayern Munich and Barcelona have to pay to watch their club, it’s hard to argue at Premier League prices that the fans will ever feel anything but ripped off.